Tiger Cave Temple - Krabi, Thailand

My lungs are burning and my head is pounding. Perhaps it will explode soon. I feel the coffee I drank on the ride to the Tiger Cave Temple churning in my stomach. I need to stop and catch my breath.

"We must be getting pretty close, right?" I ask between gasps of air, reaching for my water bottle for the 5th time since we started.

"Not sure..." Alex replies, trailing off in horror as we suddenly notice the step marker nearby.

431. Only 431 steps out of 1237.

"Maybe it's counting down?" I suggest hopefully, knowing that I'm wrong. We're only 1/3 of the way up and it’s possible we'll die before we get to the top of this mountain.

As I begin ascending a long flight of stairs that seem impossibly tall (who builds stairs that are over a foot high each?), I curse myself for letting my fear of missing out get the best of me. I'd read the reviews online. Many said this temple was a "can't miss" in Krabi, Thailand, and some said things like "I'm in great shape and struggled to make it to the top". Once again, I let my desire to see everything and live life to its fullest override the reality that I am a lazy person. When I'm not traveling, I'm more likely to hit snooze 7 times than I am to actually go to the gym. Alex jokingly calls me the Queen of Naps, and I can't disagree.

So what made me think climbing a steep mountain at 6:30am was a good idea?

But there are joys along the way to keep us going. We watch as a family of monkeys groom each other in the morning sunlight. We stop at the top of a particularly grueling flight, and we look out through the trees to see an expanse of tropical farmland shining in the sun. We stop more frequently the higher we go, taking longer to catch our breath as the altitude changes and our stamina fades. 

What seems like an eternity later, we realize we have only 1 flight to go. We push forward, and we made it! We sit on a conveniently placed bench at the top of the stairs until we feel like we can move again, and then walk out to the platform.

My breath is gone again, but this time not from exertion. We can see for miles, the sparkling Andaman Sea in the distance, surrounded by limestone cliffs.

There is a giant golden Buddha here, the sun bouncing off its body and giving it an otherworldly glow. People built this temple, and they built those stairs we climbed, and they did it to honor a religion that is so important to their culture. I suddenly feel very humbled, and very thankful that I did not miss out on this magical place. 

Reality is fine - for the moment it can wait, I'm addicted to the chase of my happiness!

It's not very often that my dreams come true.

Ok, that's a sort of pessimistic opening line! I really don't mean that in a negative way - truthfully, I'm far too much of a realist to ever be called a "dreamer" to begin with.

But for almost as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of traveling. Europe has always been top my list of dream destinations - I remember when I was a 19 year old college student and the internet was just invented (or so it seems), I dreamed of quitting school and backpacking through Europe. I used to search sites - such as they were back in 2001 - and read about backpacking experiences and try to figure out how I could make that happen.

I recall many times over the next decade looking at airfare to Europe, visiting tour websites (such as Contiki!) and wishing I had the money/time/freedom/guts/whatever to just take the plunge and get myself to Europe. I always regretted that I didn't study abroad (which is how I ended up in Brazil in grad school - it wasn't Europe but since Europe wasn't available it was a distant second place).

A lot of things have changed since I was 19, but one thing never changed at all - my desire to travel and my desire to get to Europe.

So when my whole life got flipped upside down this year and I decided I had the vacation time and NEEDED to escape and recharge - it seemed fitting to go to Europe.

This decision was not practical. I did not save up specifically for this vacation and I didn't even plan it very well - I booked the trip about 6 weeks before my flight was leaving. I had had fleeting thoughts about doing this for a couple of months before booking, but kept talking myself out of it because it wasn't the best financial decision, I wasn't sure about going on my own, I wasn't sure about taking 2 weeks off of work - but one Saturday afternoon, I looked up flights once again and on a sort of impulse, I clicked the "purchase" button.

And so I was going on a 16 day trip to Europe - by myself.

A lot of people I told thought I was nuts. Heck, I wasn't sure if I was nuts - I knew I'd be fine on my own, I'm my favorite person to travel with and I don't mind being alone in the least. But I had no idea what I was really getting into, and I didn't know for sure if Contiki was going to be the right tour company for me or really what was going to happen.

Sometimes the most irrational decisions are the best ones.

After all, I've made a lot of very practical decisions in my life and they've mostly landed me with things like student loan debt, a divorce, and not a lot of happiness.

This trip was a dream that I made happen. It's not every day that your dreams come true, and it's definitely not every day that you have the power to make that happen on your own. I thought there was probably not a more perfect way to celebrate my new single life - restart my life as Jill on my own - than to do something I have wanted to do as long as I've wanted anything in my entire life.

So - this blog is a record of my trip. I've written several posts, so this post - the one I'm first sharing with the world - is an attempt to organize all those posts into more of a cohesive story. I realize every reader may not want to read 18 blog posts at once, so hopefully you can navigate to the ones you want to read and skip those you don't (but please read them all... ha!).

One thing I will note before you read on - this blog is written not just as a chronicle of what I did in Europe. It's written from the perspective of someone who is purposely trying to restart the way she's living her life.

If there was one thing I learned on this trip, it was that I can feel happiness. I think I've been unhappy with my life as long as I can remember and while I rationally know that I have a wonderful life filled with wonderful people and I'm so fortunate in so many ways - I have never lived a life that was truly focused on what would make me feel happiness. I've always had a case of the "shoulds" - I should have a stable job. I should get married and own a home. I should have kids someday. I should act like a mature and responsible adult.

For two weeks of my life, I didn't do anything I "should" do and just did exactly what I wanted to do. I chased my happiness.

I learned that I should spend more time worrying about what makes me actually happy and less time worrying about what I "should" do.  Because you know what? It turns out most of that stuff that should make me happy doesn't. Maybe I don't want to get married again. Maybe kids are not for me. Maybe I'm meant to quit my job someday and travel around the world and piece together a living doing things that bring me joy.

Honestly, I have no idea what I "will" do. And I'm glad I don't have to figure that out right now. But seeing this piece of the world and forming relationships with these wonderful strangers and really getting out there and living my life - it's given me a new inspiration. I feel like although my life in Iowa seems so much smaller since this trip, my excitement for my life ahead of me seems so much larger. I can't wait to travel again. I can't wait to chase my happiness and see where it leads me. I guess you'd say I am addicted to the feeling I got while traveling the world and I want more of it.

So - this blog is written from that perspective. Parts of it are strictly about the places I went and what I saw. Parts of it touch on experiences with other people and doing things - like partying like a 22 year old and having moments with people of the opposite sex - that I haven't done in many years. Parts of it acknowledge that this was really a turning point in moving forward from being divorced - it was kind of like the final chapter of the last story and the first chapter of a new one.

I did try to protect privacy of those I was with and not share anything too personal or embarrassing to others, and I did change the spelling of certain names to make them less Google-able.

But for the most part, I tried to be authentic in telling my story. Because it's not just a story of going to Paris and Rome and other places in Europe - it's a story of experiencing my life. Of restarting it.

Contiki European Highlights - September 2013

We visited several different countries on this trip:

The tour started in London, where I had a full day to myself before actually meeting up with the group.

The first day of the actual tour, we drove from London through the White Cliffs of Dover to Paris. We got to spend a full day in Paris the next day, which was my favorite day of the entire tour.

After Paris, we drove through a beautiful wine region and spent a night at a chateau in the Beaujolais Wine Region. We concluded our tour de France by spending two nights in the French Riviera, which included a full day in Nice and an evening trip to Monaco.

We left France and drove into Italy. Our first day included a stop in Pisa and a night in Florence. From Florence we drove to Rome, where we spent two nights and got to see Vatican City on our full day in Rome.  From Rome we headed to Venice, my second favorite city on the entire tour.

When we left Italy, we drove through Austria and into Germany. Our first stop was a night in Munich, followed by a night in St. Goar along the Rhine River.

Our final stop was Amsterdam , where we spent two nights and had our final adventures. This tour was a total whirlwind - it still amazes me that I was able to function at the end of two weeks of rapid sightseeing, late nights spent with new friends, and experiencing more in 15 days than I possibly could have imagined.

I also wrote a review of my trip, if anyone reading is interested in doing a Contiki tour or really any other similar tour.

I hope you enjoy reading about everything as much as I enjoyed writing about it (I know it's not possible to enjoy it as much as I did experiencing it all!). I do plan to continue writing this blog, though I can't guarantee it will be as interesting as a trip to Europe, I hope my life will continue to be interesting to write about as I continue to chase my happiness.

Also, in case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about with all this "chasing my happiness" business  -  it's in reference to a song that Sarah played on our coach every morning. It was our tour song, "It Can Wait" by Illy. The refrain is not only catchy, but really resonated as we were in Europe chasing happiness and avoiding reality for two weeks. I think I was pretty successful in catching it - if only for what now seems like a moment.

Please feel free to comment and follow my blog for future updates!

Day 14 - Amsterdam (final day of the tour)

The last day of the trip was a full day in Amsterdam. We had one more night to go, and then I was catching my plane bright and early the next morning. I remember waking up almost dreading the day - I really didn't feel ready to go home yet. Usually, by the end of a vacation I get this sad feeling  - the fun times are ending, I'm going back to reality, and I'm going to have to find a new thing to look forward to.

This time, it was all those feelings - plus a sadness that something I had dreamed of doing for so long was now only going to be a part of my past. And the people I met along the way were not going back home with me - like my fellow travelers would on any other vacation - but were going to be spread out literally across the world and I'd likely never see any of them again.

In other words, I woke up wanting to make my last day on my Europe vacation last forever.

The first stop of the day was for the canal bike tours. I wasn't quite sure what to expect - what's a canal bike? - but it turns out they were these strange little boats where there are two seats in front where you sit and pedal, and two seats in back where you sit and do nothing. You ride them in groups of four, so as usual I was with Danielle, Phil, and Kris. The instructors basically gave us some snacks in a bag and some soda and told us to follow the map on the boat and end at the Anne Frank House - and then turned us loose on the canals. Which seemed kind of crazy since none of us knew how to use them and we could have literally gone in any direction and there was nothing the owners of the boats could really have done about it.

The canal boats 

It was kind of a rough start for most of the boats - there was a lot of spinning in circles and people going in the wrong direction. Thankfully between Danielle navigating and the guys being smart guys, we didn't have too much trouble. I took the important job of handing out snacks and wasn't very helpful otherwise.

Phil and Kris did all the work at first

Danielle and I started out in the back, which meant we just sat there while the guys pedaled

The group on the canal bike/boat

Amsterdam has a series of interconnected canals that run through the city. The map took us through a good amount of them, but obviously did not cover the entire city and there was a lot more to the map that we probably could have covered on a different tour. The route we were on took us through some really pretty areas, though. 

Probably halfway through the trip, Danielle and I took a turn pedaling. It was surprisingly difficult! It felt kind of like pedaling uphill or on a stationary bike that was set to high resistance. The guys had made it look easy, but I got warm pretty quickly. Danielle told me later that she was barely pedaling (she was not feeling well) so maybe that was part of the problem if I was the only one doing most of it!

The girls pedaling and driving the boat

 Eventually we switched spots with the guys again and they took us to the end of the trip. It was a very pleasant ride through the city and a neat way to see things from a different angle.

The canal bikes ended up right near the Anne Frank House, which was perfect since that was the one place I really wanted to visit in Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House is now a museum, but it is the actual house where Anne and her family hid during World War II. Anne's father, Otto, had an office building in the front and a secret hiding place in the back with a door behind a bookcase. The museum walked us through the entire space and explained how the family went into hiding, what happened in each room, and had pictures of what the rooms looked like back when the families lived there. Today, there is no furniture in the rooms and they are not decorated the same, but you could use the pictures and your imagination to envision what it looked like back then.

Danielle, Brittney, and I walked through the museum together - the guys weren't interested in going in, so they went and got coffee (or something) and met up with us afterward. The museum was very interesting but very crowded. It wasn't very large, but still took us probably over an hour to walk through because there were so many people there. Which I guess is a good thing, because I think Anne Frank and her family's story is something people should hear.

You were not allowed to take pictures inside, because it is a place that can be very emotional for people to walk through and it's disrespectful to take pictures. So, I don't have any to share. I was really glad I went to the Anne Frank House, though - I already knew Anne's story quite well, so it was really interesting to actually be in the place where she and her family lived during that time and see what things must have really been like. Not for the first time on this tour, it seemed surreal to be there and imagine the historical significance of the very place I was standing.

We met back up with the guys afterward and the five of us went and got lunch at a little cafe down the road. I am not clear what is considered "traditional" food in Amsterdam - I think it's kind of a melting pot and I know Indonesian food is pretty popular there, but there isn't a whole lot that is considered native Amsterdam food (that we heard about, at least). The cafe served soups and sandwiches that were very much like what you'd find in the US.

After lunch, we weren't really sure what to do. The guys ended up taking a cab back to the hotel to rest before the evening out. Danielle, Brittney, and I walked around a bit, but there wasn't a whole lot to see in the immediate area beyond some fairly typical stores (i.e. Urban Outfitters) and some souvenir shops. We walked through a couple of museum areas and through a market, and then Danielle decided she wasn't feeling well and got in a cab to go back to the hotel too. I debated following her, but I felt like I didn't want to spend the last day of my vacation napping (though it sounded lovely - I was very tired!). So, Brittney and I decided to walk around together instead. The coach was meeting us for dinner later - I think we had 3 hours or so to kill before that.

So, we walked around. We went down a street with several buildings that were painted crazy colors or had graffiti on them that was pretty neat.

We kind of wandered around and went into a few shops. There was some kind of big biking event going on, and it was neat to just kind of walk around and look at the city. I wasn't really sure exactly what I was looking at much of the time, but it was kind of a neat city to just explore.

Brittney and I had a fun time wandering around!

This clock had crazy numbers - I have no idea how you are supposed to read it!

We eventually made our way back toward the Red Light District, so we could check it out during the day and see what it's like at a different time. The coach was also meeting us very close to there, so it made sense to head that way. Along the way, we found some outdoor markets that sold a lot of different costume jewelry and other things like art, tapestries, etc. I bought an owl necklace and a new bracelet - each were about 5 euros so pretty cheap. It was fun just walking around looking at things and taking our time. The trip had been so rushed and Amsterdam is a neat city to just hang out in, so it was nice that for once we actually had time to waste.

We ended up stopping in a bar in the Red Light District to grab a beer. The bar was decorated like a sailor bar and the bartender really liked us. When we ordered a beer, he asked us if we were from Australia because of our accents - which I found hilarious since we'd been hanging out with Australians for 2 weeks at that point. Apparently he's either really bad at identifying accents, or the Aussies were rubbing off on us (Brittney was the only other American on the tour).

The bartender liked us so much, he ended up giving us two shots for free. So our little afternoon beer stop turned into some real day drinking.

The bartender had us come behind the bar and take a picture with him

Now that we were a little buzzed, we walked around the Red Light District a bit more. We went into a few shops that had some crazy sex toys and other related items (for the record, we didn't buy anything!). We even stopped in a coffee shop and shared a brownie. I think we got the full Amsterdam experience.

Brittney was the queen of selfies on this trip - I'm glad she's so good at taking them!

We finally met up with the coach bus (after a little concern we were in the wrong place - we were the only ones waiting there!). Most of the rest of the people on our tour had ended up back at the hotel and boarded the bus there. We were the only rockstars that stayed out all day exploring!

Conclusion on Amsterdam

Amsterdam was a neat place, but it is one of the only places on the trip I feel like I don't need to return to. I guess that's partly because we had enough time there - we were there for two nights - but also because I think there isn't much else there I wanted to see. There are a couple of museums that sounded neat, but by the time we were there I just couldn't do any more art or museums. I do feel like I got a good taste of the culture there and really enjoyed visiting.

Concluding the Contiki tour - Final night out in Amsterdam

The coach took us to the place where we had our final dinner. Before we went in, we had a toast with some bottled Bellini that Sarah had bought for us in Venice and wanted us to taste. We toasted to a great trip and headed into the restaurant for dinner.

The dinner place was called the Sea Palace and it was basically a floating Chinese restaurant. 

The dinner was served family style and included several types of Chinese food and we each got three drinks included with our meal. The food was very good and since a couple of people at our table had had too much to drink the night before, they gave their drink tickets to Phil and Kris, who drank more wine than I think I could have stomached in that short amount of time! I was trying to pace myself since I'd already had 3 drinks and half an Amsterdam brownie that day so I didn't want to go nuts and get sick or have no memory of the night.

Dinner was fun and bittersweet - it was our last meal together. It's funny how quickly you bond with people in this type of situation - it seemed amazing that 2 weeks earlier, I had never met these people. But on our last night together, it seemed crazy and horribly sad that these people that I had shared so many incredible experiences, laughs, and fun times with were all going to be going our separate ways. 

I am so thankful that Danielle was on this trip with me - it was good to have a girlfriend I had so much fun with and could count on throughout the entire tour. 

From our first day in Paris, these guys were hilarious and I'm so glad I got to know them

Funny how in two weeks we went from being total strangers to like a little family

After dinner, we headed to our canal cruise. This was a relatively small boat that was enclosed and took us down the canals at night. They served more wine, and it was pleasant cruising through Amsterdam and seeing the city from another angle.

Danielle, Daryl, and Kris on the canal cruise

I had a hard time getting any pictures that weren't blurry - this is the only one that turned out!

Unfortunately, Danielle was really not feeling well by that point so after the cruise, she said goodbye to us and went back to the hotel on the coach. Brittney had had too much Amsterdam, so she went back too. I think the rest of the group all remained, and we went on a pub crawl to a few different places to celebrate our last night.

The night is a little bit of a blur - I remember dancing and laughing and having fun. Sarah came around with little shots a couple of times, and we went to one shot bar where we all got a free shot and then could purchase others. Kris and I did a shot of tequila and some shot called the "Harry Potter" that involved a blow torch - it was kind of crazy but tasted good!

My first tequila shot in probably a decade

I am not in this photo, but it's the only other picture I've seen of that night so I thought I'd include it - we all had fun that night!

We went to a few different places, and eventually it was late and Phil, Kris, and I decided it was time to head back. Sarah had told us to start saying our goodbyes that night, and I was leaving in the morning so I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to as many people as I could. Of course, my original plan was to take a cab to the airport and not see anyone in the morning since my flight was early - but the coach ended up leaving early enough to take me to the airport for free. By the time we were leaving the bar, though, I had forgotten that the plan had changed and I thought it was the last time I was going to see everyone.

I was in tears saying goodbye to everyone. I feel truly lucky to have met the people I did on this tour - we seriously had the best group. There were 19 of us who were traveling on our own, and nearly every one of those people became a friend to me in some way. It's not every day that you meet a group of people who are so easy to get along with and so much fun - and who are adventurous spirits like myself. I think a certain type of person wants to go on a really ambitious tour like we did - and a certain type is independent enough to fly to Europe on their own and meet a big group of strangers and become friends like we did. It's kind of neat to meet people from all over the world that you share something major in common with - and that's what I did on this trip. In a lot of ways, I probably have more in common with this group than I do with most people I know in my regular life. It broke my heart a little to see that end.

I took a cab back with Phil and Kris, which was fitting since the two of them (plus Danielle) were really my main people on this trip and staying out without all of them on the last night would have just been sad. We stopped in at the falafel place next door so Phil could eat something, and kind of hung around for a little while. Eventually, it was time for another goodbye and we parted ways to head to bed. 

I got back to my room in tears - I hate it when I get so sentimental! But truthfully - I came on this Contiki tour not knowing what to expect. I knew I was going to see some amazing places that I had always wanted to see, and I really came to Europe for Europe and nothing more. I had hoped by booking a tour through Contiki I would meet some people that I could have fun with and hang out with, but I didn't really know if I would make true friends or really what to expect.

I was so lucky that on the first full day of the trip, I got to know four individuals who I would spend the rest of my trip being able to really rely on and have a blast with. Daryl kind of floated back and forth between groups, but Danielle, Kris, Phil, and I hung out the entire time and got really close. It was kind of random the way that we all ended up being together in Paris that first day - but I don't think it was random that we stuck together after that. They are truly special people and I am so grateful to have met them and had the privilege of sharing my time with them. They were so much fun and also added an element of I guess I would say....security? to the whole experience. It was great knowing that no matter where I was and who I was talking to, I always had those three (and sometimes four) to come back to at the end of the day. It meant a lot to me and though we're now scattered across the globe, they each hold a piece of my heart and I hope they continue to be a part of my life.

Going home

The next morning was very quick. Breakfast at the hotel, goodbye to Kris (who was staying Amsterdam), a quick ride to the airport, and goodbye to everyone else. Getting off the coach at the airport hurt my heart. I was bummed out and exhausted the entire day and jet lagged for a few days afterward.

I'm writing this post 4 weeks after I returned home, and in some ways that seems crazy. Was it really only 4 weeks ago? Did this crazy beautiful trip even actually happen or was it just my imagination? How does the world I lived in for those 2 wonderful weeks exist in the world I live in back home? How do I reconcile the person I was on vacation with the person I want to be at home? 

I'm glad I have pictures and new Facebook friends and now this blog to prove to myself that yes, this was reality. And it's taken me most of the last 4 weeks to really settle back into my life and stop feeling depressed that things are back to normal. Or a new normal - because I don't think I'm the same person that left for Europe a little over 6 weeks ago. I'm still trying to figure out what that means, but I hope that's a good thing. 

Day 13 - Edam and Amsterdam

On the final Saturday of the trip, we headed to Amsterdam. I was already feeling like it was bittersweet getting to our last stop - of course I was excited to see another new place, but knowing it was our last day on the coach and that we were heading into our last new adventure made me feel sad. I feel sad typing that now! It was such an amazing trip in so many ways and I really didn't want it to ever end (despite the fact that if I kept up that pace forever, I'd die).

We drove most of the day, with a service stop somewhere along the way. I had Burger King for lunch for the first time in who knows how long - I always think it's funny to eat American fast food in another country. I was pretty sick of pork and German food, though, so a whopper and fries tasted pretty good at that point. I never would have considered eating that in France or Italy (and would rarely eat it in America!) but German food? Not my thing.

We entered the Netherlands and it didn't seem like we drove long before reaching our first stop, Edam. The first thing we did there was visit a shop where they make both cheese and clogs - a Dutch girl explained the cheese making process, and then we were shown how to make wooden clogs. The guy showing us actually carved a clog during the demonstration - it was kind of amazing how quickly and easily he was able to make a chunk of wood look like a shoe. Obviously his work needed some polishing before you could wear it, but it looked like a clog by the time he was done!

Carving a piece of wood into a clog - with a really big knife!

The shop had all different kinds of cheese, and they were set up to taste. I tried every one of them - I think they were all different kinds of Gouda, which is one of my favorites (it's very good-a). I probably could have bought several of them, but I ended up purchasing one with black pepper in it. Amazingly, they were packed so that they didn't need refrigeration and you could bring them home. I also bought a beer bottle opener in the shape of a clog.

All different types of cheese to taste

We loaded back up onto the coach and drove into the town of Edam for our bike ride. I recall thinking "wow, the Netherlands kind of looks like the midwest".

Farmland... this looks like my daily commute

The town of Edam was very cute. We got off the coach and walked through several streets and over bridges to get to a bike shop. 

This shop had a ton of bikes that were nearly identical, and you just basically chose one that was your height. They too had brakes where you had to pedal backwards (like in Munich) but seemed to be weighted differently so they were a little easier to ride. Or I was just a professional granny bike rider by that point, perhaps.

The bike shop

We took an easy bike ride through parts of town and followed the river for a while. It felt good to ride a bike again and it was an enjoyable, slow paced ride. We stopped a couple of times to hear a little about the town and take pictures.

The town of Edam

Clearly, I'm a pro granny bike rider by this point in the trip

The entire tour group that took the bike ride

A little different than what you see in Iowa

Edam was a nice stop, but we were soon on our way. It wasn't very far to Amsterdam - maybe an hour or two, I can't recall. While we were on our way, Sarah told us she was going to see a sex show that night and that we were all invited to come along. I did not know this prior to the tour, but apparently it is not uncommon in the Red Light District to attend live performances of - well, sex. I had never heard of such a thing and I wasn't sure what to think of it, but pretty much everyone was into going so I figured why not. YOLO. I'll probably never be anywhere that this is a "thing" again and it's kind of a funny thing to do and to be able to say you did it. That's what she said.

After we paid Sarah for Sex (haha) we arrived at our last hotel in Amsterdam. The hotel was again very basic and we were sharing a room with Alyssa and Kayleigh. We actually had some time to get ready - I think we had over an hour which was unheard of on the trip. Dinner was in the hotel basement, and after we ate we had a little time to kill before taking the coach into the city.

It was Saturday night and we got off the coach pretty close to the Red Light District. We were told we were not to bring drugs onto the coach but that if we could convince a prostitute to come back on the coach, that would be fine (which was more funny than a serious set of instructions!). Sarah walked us through the Red Light District, where cameras are not allowed so I don't have any pictures.

The Red Light District is an interesting place. As most people probably know, it's a place where prostitution is legal, as is marijuana. It's also a place that oozes sex and oddball behaviors. There are tons of sex shops, and just about every street is lined with floor to ceiling windows featuring a girl in skimpy clothing (usually some version of bra and panties) trying to entice customers to come in and pay her for sex. Most of the girls are actually really beautiful - I tried not to look too obviously, but it was hard to avoid noticing that they had nice bodies and pretty faces. 

We ended up at the Sex show. Our admission price included 2 drinks, which I drank quickly because I felt kind of awkward being there. Thank goodness we attended this at the end of our tour - it was a lot less uncomfortable with people I felt I knew pretty well and felt comfortable around than it would have been if I was sitting there with a bunch of strangers. Yet maybe strangers would have been less weird? I don't know.

I have never been - nor will I probably ever be again - to something quite like this. It was basically live pornography. There were people having sex 30 feet away from me and I was paying to watch. It was kind of a crazy thing and both pretty hot and pretty uncomfortable at the same time. I don't consider myself a prude at all and I like to keep an open mind about what people do - but it was weird. Yet it was also a funny experience and I'm glad I just went for it and attended. 

The show consisted of a couple of couples having sex, a pair of women using toys on each other, and a couple of strippers doing really amazing pole dances and doing other things I won't elaborate on. There were also two segments where audience participation was involved- neither involving actual sex, but several in our tour group were called on stage to participate. Thankfully, I was not - but it was pretty hilarious to watch our friends on stage. 

After we were finished with Sex, we walked over to a bar a few blocks away. This bar had 2 for 1 drinks and was really crowded but had a fun atmosphere. There were black lights and people walking around with neon face paint, which was kind of interesting. It was a fun place to be and almost the entire group was there so we had a great time hanging out. Thankfully Kris did bring his camera along so we got some pictures!

The four of us had a lot of fun together on this trip

I don't know where Mario came from

We all had so much fun together 

I learned quickly that night that Amsterdam is a crazy place and it was easy for people to get carried away. One of the girls on the tour, Stacey, who I barely even spoke to the entire tour, ended up getting really sick from drinking too much - and I somehow ended up being the one to basically carry her up the stairs to the bathroom and help her get back downstairs and outside. I remember trying to find her actual friends to help her out and being pretty pissed off that they were not helpful at all. Then poor Danielle, who was so careful and mature the entire tour, ended up accidentally drinking way too much too and was not reacting well either. I hailed them a cab and sent them back to the hotel - I felt kind of bad sending Danielle off and not going with her, but I knew she was safe with the other 2 people in the cab and I really just wanted to stick around and continue having fun. 

We witnessed a few other crazy Amsterdam incidents - some guy stumbled out of the bar, fell down, and they actually called an ambulance. I saw a few other random people stumbling along and throwing up and just being completely out of it. It was crazy. I live in the town with the #1 party college in the US (a proud achievement, University of Iowa!) and I still don't think I've seen anyone party before quite like I saw in Amsterdam in the Red Light District on a Saturday night. 

We ended up walking around a bit and then catching a cab back to the hotel, after a quick stop for pizza on the way. Everyone got back to the hotel about the same time, so we hung around a bit and took a few more photos.

By this point it was very late in the night so it was time for bed.

Conclusion on the Red Light District in Amsterdam:

It was a crazy place. I think the vibe was kind of fun - it seemed like the sort of place where literally anything goes, and the people there are all there to have a good time and are not concerned with social norms or inhibitions of any kind.

I did feel a little uncomfortable walking past the prostitutes. Despite being legal  - I find it very unlikely that most of them are there truly by choice. I mean sure, everyone loves having sex, but being paid to have sex with random men (and likely not the highest caliber of men) - that's not something normal women would ever want to do. That's something women do because they are forced into it, either through sex trafficking or desperation or some other terrible circumstances. Being in a place where that's almost celebrated is strange to me. I certainly hope it's different with the "sex show" - but I don't know and I hope I didn't accidentally contribute to the sex trade. 

Overall  - it was a place worth checking out purely because of the culture. I'm glad that I got to experience some of that culture and despite people throwing up all around me, I had a lot of fun with my friends that night so I was glad I was there for that experience.